Chocolate Archives - Page 26 of 26

Irish Cream Milk Chocolate Mousse

24|06|2013

It poured incessantly all weekend. Rains are great but not when it is already cold. And definitely not during the weekend. When I woke up to the rains on Saturday morning, I imagined how our weekend would turn out, walled in with no adventure. But to lift up the spirits, the Husband served a gourmet breakfast, all plated up with the perfect amount of cheese. Loads of it! Now that was not a bad start.

It did not shower in a huge downpour…just an annoying drizzle that wouldn’t go away. We came up with the idea of an impromptu visit to our earlier suburb. The twins instantly recognised the place, much to my surprise and became very excited. And so was I. That familiar lanes, shops, faces, library, parks and the BAKEWARE store. I realised how much I missed this place. We had a Vietnamese lunch at our usual table at the restaurant and talked about memories of our stay in that locality. I had stayed a considerable amount of time with the kids alone there on account of my husband’s work related travel but I was almost always at ease. Guess who I had for a neighbour. The cops!

During the course of the conversation, I was reminded of this dessert that I had made for myself at midnight during one such long travel. I made four servings, added a good deal of liquor (far more than the recipe), refrigerated them for setting up, piped a little decoration the first thing I woke up in the morning, took pictures, posted them on Facebook (for my husband to see:-)). And devoured them myself! It definitely made me feel good…and a little less lonely. Bailey’s Irish cream, I think can by default takes you to Heaven. When you add chocolate to it…need I say more!! Have you ever made something fancy, just for yourself? I would love to hear your stories.

Until this day, one of the pictures was the profile photograph of my blog’s Facebook page. But l missed posting this beauty. When I came back home, I looked up some old folders and found what I was looking for. And a lot more. So many posts that never happened. Or should I say, yet to happen.

The forecast is calling for rains all week. But guess who’s not disheartened.

Rains are great!!

Irish Cream Milk Chocolate Mousse
Serves 4

4 Egg Yolks
¼ Cup Sugar(or to taste)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ Cup heavy cream for the custard (Crème Anglaise)
3/4 Cup Milk Chocolate chopped or broken into cubes
1 teaspoon powdered gelatine
1 Cup Heavy Cream for whipping

2 Tablespoons Irish Cream (preferably Baileys)

Heat the ½ cup cream over medium heat in a saucepan. Beat the egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl. When the cream reaches boiling point take it off the heat, let it cool till just warm and add the gelatine. Let the mixture stand till the gelatine becomes puffy. Reheat the cream slightly till gelatine dissolves and slowly pour it over the egg mixture whisking constantly. Return the egg-cream mixture to the pan.

Heat the mixture under a medium-low flame, whisking constantly till the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. This is called a Creme anglaise/custard.

Place the milk chocolate in a bowl. Remove the custard from heat and pass it through a sieve into the bowl of chocolate. Let the mixture remain undisturbed for a while. Stir to smoothen out the chocolate. Cool to room temperature.

While the custard is cooling, whip the remaining 1 cup cream to stiff peaks. Add the 2 tablespoons of Irish cream and mix gently. Store in the refrigerator till needed.

When the chocolate mixture has cooled down completely add it to the whipped cream gradually & fold in till no white streaks appear. Pour into serving glasses. Refrigerate till set, about 4 hours or preferably overnight.

To serve, pipe a little swirl of whipped cream or simply dust with cocoa powder.

I will…I can ! Earl Grey-Milk Chocolate and Lemon Mousse Duo

22|03|2013

‘As I see it. . . .
I can and I will
Everyday I tell myself that I can and I will.
I find the reasons why I can and why I will succeed.
I paint the vision of my future in my mind and I can see myself standing in the winners circle.
My success starts in my mind and I make it happen as I see it in my visions.’
-Lou LudwigThat was my healthy dose of optimism for you!

There are days when I rely heavily on some borrowed positivity to get my act together. For a person who once took pride in being determined, planned and organised with everything, life is anything but ‘organised’ at the moment. Life with two young kids can be demanding. And leave you exhausted.

On reminiscing I often wonder where all the “I wills’ of my willpower have disappeared. Funny how situations can transform you. How easy is it for any of us to get knocked down by life at times? But the good news is that I am not done with them yet. The ‘I will-s’ have been replaced with “I can-s’.

Those who have been reading my posts would know by now my weakness for desserts especially cold ones. Mousse comes right at the top of my list of ‘things that make my day’. And this duo has been on my mind for days. I have made them many times individually or in a combination with other flavours. Chocolate and lemon admittedly are not my ‘to die for’ combo. But the addition of Bergamot from the Earl Grey balances it out beautifully. Dark chocolate could be overpowering so I used milk chocolate.

In other news, the kids are excited. Daddy is back tomorrow after a long travel. A huge relief for the family. All are going to benefit from this including you. Maybe I can throw in a few more sweet treats for you here and there.

I can…I can..I CAN!

What that means is i am still somewhere on that track. If i am not running, I am still walking.

Hey…’I can’ rocks!

Earl Grey- Milk Chocolate and Lemon Mousse

Serves 4

Earl Grey-Milk Chocolate Mousse

3 Egg Yolks

¼ Cup Sugar(or to taste)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ Cup heavy cream for the custard (Crème Anglaise)

1 Earl Grey tea bag
1/2 Cup Milk chocolate chopped or broken into cubes

2 teaspoons powdered gelatine

¾ Cup Heavy Cream for whipping

Heat the ½ cup cream with the Earl Grey teabag in a saucepan. Beat the egg yolks,sugar and vanilla extract together in a bowl. When the cream reaches boiling point take it off the heat and let the flavours infuse for 15 minutes. Remove the tea bag, add the gelatine, reheat the cream till warm and slowly pour it over the egg mixture whisking constantly. Return the egg-cream mixture to the pan.

Heat the mixture under a medium-low flame, whisking constantly till the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.

While the custard is cooling, whip the remaining ¾ cup cream to stiff peaks. Store in the refrigerator till needed.

When the chocolate mixture has cooled down completely add it to the whipped cream gradually & fold in till no white streaks appear. Pour into serving glasses till half full. Refrigerate till set, about 4 hours or longer.

Lemon Mousse

3/4 cup lemon curd, cold (recipe below)

1/4 cup sugar

1 Cup whipping cream

Whisk the cream and sugar together till you reach soft peaks. Fold in the lemon curd slowly. Pour into the serving glasses on top of the Earl grey-milk chocolate mousse. Refrigerate till set, about 4 hours.

Note: to get a stronger flavour of lemon mousse increase the lemon curd by half a cup more. I did not want the lemon flavour to be too strong in the mousse.

Lemon Curd

3 large eggs

3/4 cup (150gms) granulated white sugar

1/3 cup (80 ml) fresh lemon juice (2-3 lemons)

4 tablespoons (56 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 tablespoon (4 gms) finely shredded lemon zest

In a stainless steel bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water, whisk together the eggs, sugar and lemon juice until blended. Cook stirring constantly (to prevent it from curdling), until the mixture becomes thick (like sour cream or a hollandaise sauce). This will take approximately 10 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately pour through a fine strainer to remove any lumps. Cut the butter into small pieces and whisk into mixture until the butter has melted. Add the lemon zest and let cool. The lemon curd will continue to thicken as it cools. Cover immediately (so a skin doesn’t form) and refrigerate for up to a week.

To serve: Decorate with meringue and/or piped chocolate or a dusting of cocoa powder.

Double Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Fudge Frosting.

18|03|2013

Many years ago, I met a little boy. He had an angelic face with the cutest curls around them, eyes that told stories of twinkling stars and a smile that could melt the strongest of hearts. Like most little boys, he adored everything with wheels. Toy cars, big cars and makeshift cars (the ones that are generally meant to carry belongings but at times can carry a toddler or two…Suitcases).

I told him stories at bedtime, made him laugh during the day with faces and expressions that only we could read, filled up his stockings with little presents during Christmas Eve and made him cry when he played with my dolls.
We walked together a zillion roads, his fingers tightly clutching mine. Till one day he became the ‘cool guy’. Cool guys don’t hold hands. He morphed into a teenager. Fiercely independent..with an understanding of the world that was so rare of his age..who kept a lot to himself but was always ready to offer a lending a hand. Under the pretext of doing homework we spent many afternoons together, sharing secrets, cracking jokes, hiding behind windows and spraying water on innocent passersby and sneaking into the kitchen to do the ‘great taste test’ for dishes that were meant to be served to guests. Needless to say there were other days when we drove each other crazy and fought over every little thing under the sun. My heart aches to think that those moments can never come back.

Before we realised, the spirited teenager grew into a handsome man with a heart of gold. The responsible son, the doting brother…wise, quick witted, generous, loving…and set out to conquer the world. He made our hearts swell up with pride as he went on achieving milestones. He found himself a partner, equally spirited and loving. A beautiful addition to the family.

I made these cupcakes for my brother’s birthday back in January.While going through a few folders on the laptop, i found these bright pictures during the weekend. I thought they were decent enough to post though very few. I could have taken more had i known I would have a blog someday.
A simple chocolate cupcake made extra chocolaty with the addition of chocolate chips. The frosting is gorgeous.

I did not bake a cake as he was not around to eat it. My brother lives on the other side of the world where the sun sets as it rises here in Sydney. Perhaps he will be here on one of his birthdays to perform the ‘great taste test’ with me.
But our hearts are ever so close and securely fastened with a bond called family. A bond that celebrates childhood, big dreams, secrets and adventures. A bond that lives outside the touch of time.

A bond unique to a Big Sister and her Little Brother.

Double Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Fudge Frosting (adapted with a small variation from Joy of Baking)

Chocolate Cupcakes
Yields 16

1/2 cup (50 gms) dutch processed cocoa powder
1 cup (240 ml) boiling water
11/3 cups (175 gms) all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup (113 gms) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (200 gms) granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 190 degrees C. Lightly butter, or line 16 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a small bowl stir until smooth the boiling water and cocoa powder. let cool to room temperature. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and chocolate chips.
Then in the bowl of your electric mixer or with a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at time, beating until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat only until incorporated. Then add the cooled cocoa mixture and stir until smooth.

Fill each muffin cup about two-thirds full with batter and bake for about 16-20 minutes or until risen, springy to the touch and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. (Do not over bake or the cupcakes will come out dry). Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.
Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, frost with icing. You can either spread the frosting on the cupcakes with a small spatula or pipe lovely swirls.
These cupcakes are best the day they are made but can be stored for a few days.

Chocolate Fudge Frosting

120 gms unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
2/3 cup (150 gms) unsalted butter, room temperature
11/3 cups (160 gms) icing sugar sifted
11/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.
In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until smooth and creamy(about 1 min). Add the sugar and beat until it is light and fluffy(about 2 min). Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the chocolate and beat on low speed until incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until frosting is smooth and glossy (about 2-3 min).

A Chocolate craving ! Double Chocolate Brownie, Chocolate Hazelnut Truffle and Caramelised White Chocolate Mousse

3|03|2013

I have been craving chocolate…craving for a while now. Not a bar or two. Not even a cake or an ice cream. A wicked craving. Shut myself away from the world, sitting with knees folded on the couch, my favourite music playing in the background, a rich..luscious..sinful dessert in my hands, savoring each mouthful.

I have been trying to put away this chocolate hankering for a long time now…saving it for the orange hued months that are to follow. I can only blame it on summer…I have been trying too hard to take advantage of the beautiful summer fruits. It almost saddens me to think that summer is officially over. Berries..no berries..

A little note from a cousin along similar lines was enough to ignite the fire..or should I say an explosion. Before I could gather my thoughts together, I was weighing, whisking, stirring, piping with a vengeance. A self-proclaimed Pastry chef and Chocolate..its a bittersweet symbiotic relationship.

Dark, milk or white…I debated for a while. Then I decided to go with all three. Unsure of what the final dessert would be, I baked the brownie bases in ramekins. White chocolate is not really a favourite in its regular form but caramelized white chocolate..I could kill for that one. It is a simple technique but patience is the key. You need to be cooking it at a low temperature, checking the oven every 10 minutes till the white turns to the colour of Peanut butter. It is, I think, the most gorgeous and delicious thing on Earth…tastes and looks almost like Dulce de Leche.

One cup of caramelized white chocolate..sent my mind racing in all directions. I decided it has to be a mousse.

Quite pleased with myself, I started to think about a little surprise hiding between the brownie and the mousse. Finally I made a quick ganache and spooned out truffles.

While the mousse and truffles were setting up in the refrigerator, I baked a batch of doughnuts to use the white chocolate as a glaze. I was in a frenzy…an overpowering chocolate madness. The colour of the glaze was almost identical to the colour of the doughnuts which I was not too happy with. So out came more dark chocolate to drizzle. I will post the recipe of baked doughnuts with the caramelised white chocolate on another day.

By the end of it, I was so drained…physically and emotionally. Too much chocolate to deal with on one day. But that was the story behind creating it. I was so looking forward to assembling it. I love piping…there were days when I piped on the entire kitchen counter to practise and perfect the art.

And..then the much awaited moment. Time to reap the rewards of my labour.

Shut myself away from the world, sitting with knees folded on the couch,my favourite music playing in the background, a rich..luscious..sinful dessert in my hands, savouring each mouthful.

Brownies, Truffles, Mousse, Doughnuts..and a little left over gorgeous Caramelised White Chocolate. I am in Chocolate Heaven right now !

Double Chocolate Brownie, Chocolate Hazelnut Truffle and Caramelized White Chocolate Dessert

Double Chocolate Brownie (adapted from here)

Yields 4-5 brownies baked in ramekins

227 g semisweet chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup butter, cut into pieces

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

4 large eggs

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup cocoa

1/4 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 180C.

In a small saucepan or a bowl in the microwave, melt the chocolate and butter over low heat. Stir until smooth and if you used a pot, pour into a bowl.

Stir in the sugar, vanilla and eggs; blend well. Add the flour, cocoa and salt and stir just until blended.

Spoon the batter into buttered ramekins, filling them about half. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until just set. (A toothpick inserted will come out with lots of moist crumbs sticking to it.) Cool completely before removing from the pan.

Once completely cooled cut out the tops to get a even surface. Then refrigerate till needed.

Chocolate Hazelnut Truffles

Yields 6-7 truffles

I halved the recipe from Joy of Baking and included whole and chopped toasted Hazelnuts.

50 g Dark chocolate
60 g Milk Chocolate
60 ml (about 1/4 cup) whipping cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter cut into small pieces
6-7 whole toasted hazelnuts.
1 cup chopped, toasted hazelnuts or any nut of your choice for coating.

Place the chopped chocolate in a medium sized heatproof bowl. Set aside. Heat the cream and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for a minute or two. Stir with a rubber spatula until smooth. (If the chocolate doesn’t melt completely, place in the microwave for about 20 seconds, or over a saucepan of simmering water,just until melted). Cover and place in refrigerator until the truffle mixture is firm.(This may take several hours).

Place the chopped nuts for coating on a plate. Remove the truffle mixture from the refrigerator. With your hands, a small ice cream scoop, a melon baller or a small spoon drop 3/4 inch mounds on a parchment lined baking sheet. Place one hazelnut in the centre of each mound and roll mounds into smooth balls. Immediately roll the truffle in the chopped hazelnut coating and place them back on the baking sheet. Cover and place in the refrigerator till firm. Bring them to room temperature before serving.

Caramelised White Chocolate Mousse

Serves 4-5

I followed David Lebovitz technique for caramelising the white chocolate. The process has been explained very well and produces consistent results every time. Recipe here. Yields about a cup.

3 Egg Yolks
¼ Cup Sugar(or to taste)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ Cup heavy cream for the custard (Crème Anglaise)
5 tablespoons of the caramelised white chocolate
2 teaspoons powdered gelatine
¾ Cup Heavy Cream for whipping

Soak gelatine in 1 tablespoon room temparature water. Heat the ½ cup cream and caramelised white chocolate in a saucepan. Beat the egg yolks,sugar and vanilla extract together in a bowl. When the cream reaches boiling point take it off the heat and slowly pour it over the egg mixture whisking constantly. Add the gelatine (which by now should have bloomed). Return the egg-cream mixture to the pan.

Heat the mixture under a medium-low flame, whisking constantly till the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Remove from heat and pass it through a sieve into another bowl. Cool to room temperature.

While the custard is cooling, whip the remaining ¾ cup cream to stiff peaks. Store in the refrigerator till needed.

When the chocolate mixture has cooled down completely add it to the whipped cream gradually & fold in till no white streaks appear. Refrigerate till set, about 4 hours or longer.

To Assemble

Place a chocolate truffle in the centre of a brownie base. Fill up a piping bag fitted with a large plain tip with the caramelised white chocolate. Pipe all around the truffle centre. Dust with cocoa powder. Refrigerate till set